I'd go with G4; it actually had quite a few video game-related shows, and now it has only one video-game-related anything (which may itself be headed down the toilet soon), and a whole lot of Cops and random other things that don't have any possible connection to games. Cartoon Network probably shows more video game-oriented material.

Sy-fy has sci-fi on it, even if most of it's terrible, and MTV has always had a pop culture component to it (it's just that pop culture itself has gone down the drain a bit in recent years), so the existing content on them now is at least tangentally relevant to what they should be showing, even if the quality has taken a nosedive.

Vivi22:

IamLEAM1983:
Does that still exist? I can't find it in my cable provider's listing. If that still exists in that form, I'm sure as shit pushing to subscribe to it again.

It exists, but it's not really what it used to be. It's still got the Star Trek series, Stargate series, and various other current/recent sci-fi shows, so I'd say it's doing a lot better than syfy. But I kind of liked Space a lot more back when it first came on the air. Back when they were brand new, they didn't seem to have a big budget and didn't have the license to show a lot of current shows, so instead they showed all of the Star Treks, some then current sci-fi TV, and then the rest was all kinds of 15-50 year old sci-fi TV and movies. A lot of the movies especially were fairly obscure genre pieces and it was awesome. I was exposed to so much stuff I never even knew existed in the first few years the channel was on the air. And it used to have short interview/science news segments which were really cool in between shows too.

Now it's the place I go to watch Stargate and Star Trek re-runs when nothing else is on.

Quebec's got Canal Z as well, but it's like Paramount never pushed for the Trek series to be dubbed. I don't mind watching Trek stuff on other English-speaking channels, but I'm kinda curious to see if and how they dubbed Benjamin Sisko and Kathryn Janeway. Z's production company, Astral, tends to mostly option dubbed BBC material for some reason.

So I've got Torchwood, Doctor Who, Being Human and Sherlock - nevermind that it doesn't really fit in with Sci-Fi material. We otherwise tend to get failed series that are more or less disowned by their parent comapanies and licensed off for cheap. Like, say, Painkiller Jane amd XIII.

It's gone to the point where if I'm sure a series has been critically panned and is up for a swift cancellation in the States or Albion, Canal Z's going to pick it up and label it as one of its "hot new acquisitions" by the end of the fiscal year.

Which makes it a small wonder why nobody picked up the Dresden Files series. Damn, did I want this project to work. Jim Butcher deserves better.

Kitsune Hunter:
If you thought Jersey Shore was bad, word of advice, don't watch Geordie Shore, it makes the cast of Jersey Shore(especially the most stupid one of all, Snooki)look like geniuses

Then there's the Irish equivalent Tallafornia. They had one girl who makes Snooki look damn near celibate. In that show the most reasonable, likeable, grounded person was the man who gets naked for money. There was a guy so stupid he drank water and didn't realise it wasn't vodka. Luckily we got this from it:

I've never liked Mtv it always sucked. for my whole lifetime it was never anything but worthless, self important, vapid fluff, and that hasn't changed.

but Sci-Fi used to be awesome! all my favorite shows were on that channel, but now it sucks so hard that I don't even look to see what's on.

I really used to like History Channel. Then I switched over to History International when the regular History channel got so bad with stupid shows like "Ancient Aliens" and all the reality TV junk. Then they renamed History International to H2, then it quickly went downhill after that. Common dammit! I watch you because it's HISTORY!!!!

I can't tell you how much I despise "Ancient Aliens." Discovery is headed down that path too.

Much music out of canada was way better than mtv even when mtv was decent, concerts (live portishead was awesome ty much music), good music, heavy metal blocks, etc. all the things mtv rarely or never did or quit doing years before. many some of you candaians can shed some light if much music is still going and if it sucks or not anymore.

reality tv is cheap, it is why so many stations just went full bore reality, fewer writers, fewer costs for lighting, crew, catering etc etc.

getting rid of headbangers ball and the advent of the real world killed mtv, and those of us that found lest the first few seasons of trw somewhat fun to watch. then we got road rules then we got 100 other reality shows and less and less music as time went on.

scifi had wrestling before the name change, scifi had bad movies before the name change, scifi let its good shows die out..SGU specifically, that show was good, do not care what the rabid sg1 fans because it was not stargate, it was solid scifi, good characters, and got killed just when it was getting really interesting, and was miles better than atlantis which was just trying to recreate sg1 characters and plot wise. never forgive or forget :P.

discovery and history channels are going downhill fast, my favorite channels for doing nothing was a mix of discovery, science, history, and news channels, now its just flipping the channels trying to find something that wont make my brain rot watching it.

I will have to agree with the episode's judgement. Why?

Because MTV was/is global - 'syfy' channel isn't. A lot of young people in europe, asia, even africa know of MTV.

I remember when I was... what? 11? (around 15 years ago) sitting in my parents living room, watching music videos. That was awesome!

now?

A while ago at my college dorm in the common room I walked by as a girl was watching some 'reality'-ish show on MTV. I hadn't watched MTV in over a decade.

Curious, I sat down and watched. And it was a true horror.

it was dating-show kind of deal, never got the name of it. A guido and some normal looking guy were both hot for a girl, set in some generic east coast not-south suburb. girl can't decide. So she does the derpy mtv thing and has the two guys come stay with her, her mother and her aunt for the weekend - so the mother and the aunt can judge the two and pick a winner

at first this didn't seem that bad... but damn, it got bad. we're talking ME3 ending bad.

first the two guys were sat down and given a CSI style interogation. basic stuff. then the two guys were made to do some gardening. guido didn't like getting his hands dirty, other guy was ok with it.

next day the producer of the show obviously took acid. because the aunt was a clown (not working for a circus, she just liked to dress up as one...) and had the two guys dress up as circus clowns - the giant shoes, rainbow afro wig (cirkus afro!), makeup

the guido up and left when tasked with this. as would any sane man

normal guy did as told, was then transported to some strip mall where he and the aunt clowned around and waved at cars driving by

the final act was the aunt and mother giving final judgement. this was done in the form of giving the remaining guy a key. if it opened the front door he was in, if it didn't he was out.

now, since there was only one guy left this should be a no brainer - right?

remember when I said ME3 ending?

they gave him the bad key. He was judged not worthy.

the show ended with the girl shouting at her mother and aunt for being stupid idiots for not thinking that the cute guy should date her, then storming off to her room. roll credits

I can't imagine the insanity that went into this. now, being a european (scandinavian no less) I've never my self seen a family where the parents exert right to choose who their kids date. sure, my parents have adviced me and my sister sternly not to date any unsavory or criminal individuals - but this?

and doing it on television?

in clown shoes?

the show, to me, appeared more to be a about how far can the mother and aunt could take the two would-be boyfriends - I mean, if I was ever given the ultimatum by some girl's mother "dress up as a cirkus clown and parade around town or you can't date my daughter" I'd call for a psych-eval and a straight jacket for her.

Personally, I'm a HUGE Sci-Fi nut. And, once upon a time, Sci-Fi channel was swimming in quality Sci-Fi shows, both older gems like Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and Outer Limit, but lots of new programming, like Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Stargate, and more.

But now? Seriously, if I want to turn to a channel proudly showing quality Sci-Fi programming, where to do I turn? At least MTV was made obsolete by Youtube, but when you want original Sci-Fi programming, what do you do?

I mean, seriously. If Sci-Fi Channel wanted to, they could create the most kick-ass Sci-Fi line-up of all time. Just imagine a channel dedicated only to showing and promoting Star Trek (all incarnations), Star Wars, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly/Serenity, Terminator: Sarah Conners Chronicles, Futurama, Stargate, Doctor Who, Earth: Final Conflict, V: The Series, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, MST3K, Lost in Space, The Bionic Woman, My Favorite Martian, The Jetsons, Andromeda, Quantum Leap, Dark Angel, Flash Gordon, Logan's Run, Sliders, Tripping the Rift, Babylon 5, X-Files...

... And if they wanted to dip their toe into Japan's pool, we could add in everything ranging from Power Rangers and Ultraman to Gundam and Robotech/Macross to Evangelion and Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell, and Cowboy Bebop.

I would watch the living hell out of an actual sci-fi channel line-up again... but, alas, we got Syfy (which sounds like venereal disease) and WRESTLING.

I loved this episode. Was a bit worried with the idea that Chris would be out, but I'm now convinced Dan could be a worthy replacement!

bladester1:

lord.jeff:
At least SyFy still has Eureka and Alphas not great but worth watching, and I for one enjoy watching SyFy's B movie Saturday with a few friends.

Um..You do realize that Eureka just aired their last episode Monday right?

I am, but it's still recent enough that it could be used as a merit to SyFy's current quality.

Also gonna make a mention of G4TV, at least you can make sense of the direction taken by SyFy and MTV but G4TV a channel about gaming, computers, and nerd culture decides to replace most of there line up with Cops reruns, why?

syfy had gundam 00
enough said

Sovereignty:
I loved this episode. Was a bit worried with the idea that Chris would be out, but I'm now convinced Dan could be a worthy replacement!

Well thank you very much. Luckily Chris will not be gone, but we do like to rotate the roster between the three of us. Glad to hear you like my debating skills.

If they ever revisit this one, I think we can almost all agree that it should be cartoon network vs G4TV. I think this matchup will be even closer since probably more people watched cartoon network but it seems like g4tv had a bigger fall.

amaranth_dru:

Kitsune Hunter:
If you thought Jersey Shore was bad, word of advice, don't watch Geordie Shore, it makes the cast of Jersey Shore(especially the most stupid one of all, Snooki)look like geniuses

I'd argue one with you on that... Whatever his name really is "the Situation" is a complete retard, see: the Comedy Central Roast where he made a complete idiot out of himself, whereas Snooki at least wasn't horribad when appearing on WWE. Granted saying one rock is marginally smarter than the other isn't really much...

True also he's a massive shit stirrer, watched Jersey Shore a year ago whenever it was a guilty pleasure, but I assumed Snooki was dumb, because of some of the stuff she says, now I'm starting to think, why did i watch that crap in the first place?, that's time i'll never get back

The problem with Sci-fi (I refuse to retard spell it) is that they always had exactly 1 good original show. For a long time it was SG-1, then BSG, then Eureka...now it's kinda just fucked since Eureka is gone (I'm not a Warehouse 13 fan).

I personally loved the schlocky sci-fi monster movies, and I also loved that they did reruns of things like Star Trek: TNG, Firefly, Farscape, Babylon 5, and the like during the mornings before their original programming. Now...wrestling and reality bullshit followed by shitty shows.

I never liked MTV, so I can only really relate to the Sci-Fi channel. During the '90s, I just didn't care about modern music that much, I was always a classic rock fan thanks to my Dad. That meant that I never watched music videos on MTV or any of their music related shows and only really took notice when my little sister got addicted to their shitty reality shows.

Spot1990:

Kitsune Hunter:
If you thought Jersey Shore was bad, word of advice, don't watch Geordie Shore, it makes the cast of Jersey Shore(especially the most stupid one of all, Snooki)look like geniuses

Then there's the Irish equivalent Tallafornia. They had one girl who makes Snooki look damn near celibate. In that show the most reasonable, likeable, grounded person was the man who gets naked for money. There was a guy so stupid he drank water and didn't realise it wasn't vodka. Luckily we got this from it:

Oh God what did I just watch? I didn't even know this existed, i wished it stayed that way

I only watch MTV for 1girl5gays.
I mean MTV Canada.
I will watch much if I want music videos.

Kitsune Hunter:

Spot1990:

Kitsune Hunter:
If you thought Jersey Shore was bad, word of advice, don't watch Geordie Shore, it makes the cast of Jersey Shore(especially the most stupid one of all, Snooki)look like geniuses

Then there's the Irish equivalent Tallafornia. They had one girl who makes Snooki look damn near celibate. In that show the most reasonable, likeable, grounded person was the man who gets naked for money. There was a guy so stupid he drank water and didn't realise it wasn't vodka. Luckily we got this from it:

Oh God what did I just watch? I didn't even know this existed, i wished it stayed that way

Sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Look on the bright side, at least you don't have to live in the same city as them. They get paid to make night club appearances. They get money for going to night clubs. I hate them.

Was going to mention Cartoon Network, but was beaten to the punch.

Found this an entertaining watch, though. Hadn't sat in on No Right Answer before.

Crossposting this from another thread, because it's slightly more on topic here:

Owyn_Merrilin:
I don't think I've ever watched MTV without someone else in the room having control of the remote. As a kid, I really didn't care for the videos. They were just excruciatingly boring to my cartoon, science fiction, and fantasy addled mind. As an adult, I really couldn't care less about Jersey Shore and what have you, either.

SyFy, on the other hand? Well, look up at the above paragraph. I got my primary fix for two out of the three things I listed there from the Sci-Fi channel. Also, honorable mention to the History channel. Little me who was bored by MTV /loved/ those History channel documentaries. Old me can't stand the alien crap, and only watches Pawn Stars and what have you because TV in general has gotten so full of crap that that's fairly frequently the least smelly piece of crap on the pile. I miss TV channels that picked a niche and catered to it.

So, yeah. For me, MTV isn't the most disappointing because it had nothing to disappoint me over. I never especially cared for the channel, even when it did show music. SyFy, on the other hand[1]? I /really/ miss the old SyFy.

Spot1990:

Kitsune Hunter:

Spot1990:
Then there's the Irish equivalent Tallafornia. They had one girl who makes Snooki look damn near celibate. In that show the most reasonable, likeable, grounded person was the man who gets naked for money. There was a guy so stupid he drank water and didn't realise it wasn't vodka. Luckily we got this from it:

Oh God what did I just watch? I didn't even know this existed, i wished it stayed that way

Sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Look on the bright side, at least you don't have to live in the same city as them. They get paid to make night club appearances. They get money for going to night clubs. I hate them.

True thank god i'don't go out to night clubs

Kitsune Hunter:

amaranth_dru:

Kitsune Hunter:
If you thought Jersey Shore was bad, word of advice, don't watch Geordie Shore, it makes the cast of Jersey Shore(especially the most stupid one of all, Snooki)look like geniuses

I'd argue one with you on that... Whatever his name really is "the Situation" is a complete retard, see: the Comedy Central Roast where he made a complete idiot out of himself, whereas Snooki at least wasn't horribad when appearing on WWE. Granted saying one rock is marginally smarter than the other isn't really much...

True also he's a massive shit stirrer, watched Jersey Shore a year ago whenever it was a guilty pleasure, but I assumed Snooki was dumb, because of some of the stuff she says, now I'm starting to think, why did i watch that crap in the first place?, that's time i'll never get back

TBH, I've never watched the show, other than the weird crossovers I've seen on various TV shows like WWE and Comedy Central's Roast. I refuse to watch "Reality TV" mostly because I have enough reality in real life and don't need simulated, scripted reality.
Which brings me to the OP Video, why argue about SyFy/MTV? They're both absolutely horrid now, though Syfy is generally better in regards to content it still is a far cry from its origins (as is MTV). I don't think you can even call MTV by its original name since there isn't much music anymore.

Both impecable choices. MTV did deserve this win though!!!

I would have said A&E vs The HISTORY channel.

They use to give us content like 3 Tenors and Canada: a peoples history.
Now we get Billy the exterminator and Ancient aliens; WTF!?

OT: I would have to say that MTV is the greater dissapointment, hands down.
It used to be about the music now it's just gossip and crappy shows.
I say pull the plug NOW!

amaranth_dru:

Kitsune Hunter:

amaranth_dru:

I'd argue one with you on that... Whatever his name really is "the Situation" is a complete retard, see: the Comedy Central Roast where he made a complete idiot out of himself, whereas Snooki at least wasn't horribad when appearing on WWE. Granted saying one rock is marginally smarter than the other isn't really much...

True also he's a massive shit stirrer, watched Jersey Shore a year ago whenever it was a guilty pleasure, but I assumed Snooki was dumb, because of some of the stuff she says, now I'm starting to think, why did i watch that crap in the first place?, that's time i'll never get back

TBH, I've never watched the show, other than the weird crossovers I've seen on various TV shows like WWE and Comedy Central's Roast. I refuse to watch "Reality TV" mostly because I have enough reality in real life and don't need simulated, scripted reality.
Which brings me to the OP Video, why argue about SyFy/MTV? They're both absolutely horrid now, though Syfy is generally better in regards to content it still is a far cry from its origins (as is MTV). I don't think you can even call MTV by its original name since there isn't much music anymore.

True, SyFy is better as MTV just shows reality tv nowadays, the lowest form of entertainment while SyFy at least shows anime and where else can i watch good bad movies like Nazis at the Centre of the Earth

Of the two I would go with Sci-Fi, MTV started sucking so long ago that I don't even remember the good times (they were already winding down when I was born) whereas I still remember when the Sci-Fi channel was still worth watching.

My personal most dissapointing channel would be UKTV History, time was I could wile away a whole evening watching it, now the only remotely interesting thing is repeats of Sharpe.

MTV because they're basically the cause of America's celebrating stupidity.

For once I agree with these guys.

First and last arrangement should have been 16 and Pregnant.

And scifi (screw syfy) is still ok from time to time. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ghost Hunters, dont care what you say. Also their mini series (Alice, Neverland, Tin Man, Treasure Island) are some of the best programs I have seen on recent tv. BUT The movies suck, and WWE doesnt even make since on that channel.

I was going to do a topic like this for your contest. Unfortunately I didn't have the time. So where'd you get the idea for it?

Well, this discussion was definitely a downer. What do you think has caused this "downfall" of American television? Is it Internet's fault?

I would say the most disappointing over here in the UK is Nickelodeon. It shows 70% Spongebob Squarepants reruns and the rest is bottom of the barrel live action "comedies" that make the Disney channel shows look like masterpieces. Sad thing is they don't show any 90's cartoons anymore and The Legend of Korra isn't even being aired over here I don't think.

Discovery Chanel- loved watching animal documentaries, now its a bunch of reality tv bull.

plus in modern context the Bloodhound Gang's the Bad Touch doesn't make much sense:
"Do it like they do on the discovery Chanel",
Do what? like who?..catch a bunch of crabs? like deadliest catch? that doesn't sound right.

G4- this Chanel should have been a cable version of the escapist. as far as i can tell its just COPS

Jesus, everytime Kyle turns his head and shows his profile I'm half expecting him to turn to the camera and punch me. The guy looks like a heavyweight irish boxer(in a good way) ready to smack some lads around, because they looked at him funny.

...Please don't kill me Kyle.

Never had "syfy" here in DK, but MTV sure did hit rock bottom. Even worse, it fed a bunch of idiotic behaviour to kids who don't know better. I'm sure that all generations look at the newer ones with disdain and disapointment, but geez, everything after the 80's just went downhill and the last ten years have been the worst.

I accuse MTV of being what it was described as, when it first came out, a degenerate pus-spewing pile of shit that rots the brain of the youth.

I've never felt old before I just wrote that.

edit

Drazi:
History Channel.

Sir, Ancient Aliens.

At least it's not as much of the "Jesus & Hitler Marathon Channel" it used to be.